Kim Carnes achieved even greater success the following year with the release of her album “Mistaken Identity.” The album included the worldwide hit “Bette Davis Eyes,” which was the best-selling single in the United States that year.
It lasted nine weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, was certified gold, and won the Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. “Mistaken Identity” also debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart, achieved Platinum certification, and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
Other significant songs by Carnes include “Draw of the Cards” (No. 28), “Does It Make You Remember” (No. 36), “Crazy in the Night (Barking at Airplanes)” (No. 15), and “Make No Mistake, He’s Mine” (No. 51) in cooperation with Barbra Streisand.
“What About Me?” (No. 15) with Kenny Rogers and James Ingram, “I’ll Be Here Where the Heart Is” from the “Flashdance” soundtrack, and the Grammy Award-nominated singles “Voyeur” (No. 29) and “Invisible Hands” (No. 40) were all hits for her.
Along with her individual performances, Carnes demonstrated her songwriting abilities by co-writing the No. 1 duet “The Heart Won’t Lie” with Donna Weiss.
What are some fun facts about Kim Carnes?
- Performing in local bars and working as a session background vocalist with the renowned Water Sisters, Kim Carnes started her career as a songwriter in the 1960s. She also began creating songs for other singers.
- James Raymond Carnes, Kim Carnes’s father, was a lawyer, while her mother worked as a hospital administrator.
- Kim Carnes, despite not coming from a musical household, knew she wanted to be a singer and songwriter as early as age three.
- Kim Carnes attended San Marino High School until 1963 and then moved to Pasadena, California, where she was raised.
- The song “Nobody Knows” by Mike Settle, sung by Kim Carnes, was played during the closing credits of the 1971 movie Vanishing Point.
- Kim Carnes released her self-titled second album in 1975, which featured “You’re A Part Of Me,” her first breakthrough single that peaked at No. 32 on the US Adult Contemporary charts.
- Robinson later wrote and composed “Being with You” for Kim Carnes since he was so inspired by her recording and song’s success.
- The song “Bette Davis Eyes” by Jackie DeShannon and Donna Weiss was first written and composed in 1974. In 1981, Kim Carnes covered it.
- Mistaken Identity received a nomination for Album of the Year, and Kim Carnes received a nomination for Best Pop Female.
- At a memorial service for the late actress that was conducted shortly before her passing, Kim Carnes gave Davis a live performance of the song, which she now views as a career high point.